The middle-aged man stepped inside, and a magnificent hall immediately came into view.
It was filled with artistic antiques, paintings, and decorations, but he merely quickened his pace, passing through them.
The man walked along a long corridor carpeted in crimson, finally reaching his destination.
It was a place resembling a Court, with an expansive space surrounded by tall pillars, each carved with owls in various poses.
On the circular judgment platform, candlelight flickered, casting mottled light and shadow throughout the space.
Around him sat several people, also wearing White masks, dressed in various styles of formal attire, seated quietly.
Some, however, held drinks and conversed with each other.
The middle-aged man expertly navigated through the crowd and found his usual seat.
Not long after he sat down, footsteps echoed from the passageway.
Following the sound, several more people wearing White masks entered.
After waiting a while longer, confirming no more people would arrive, a person emerged from within the Court, like a chief judge.
Besides also wearing a White mask, the newcomer wore a black robe, which made him appear even more mysterious than the other masked figures present.
"The meeting begins," his voice was somewhat hoarse, and muffled by the mask, it sounded slightly distorted.
No sooner had he spoken than another voice announced, "Please, Talon Leader, take the stand!"
From the crowd, a Talon in ornate armor removed his helmet and strode towards the witness stand.
His armor resembled a ceremonial suit, symbolizing honor, more than battle gear.
Dark gold threads outlined exquisite patterns on the black fabric, and the shoulder pauldrons were predominantly black, adorned with gold trim.
It was quite handsome, but for an assassin, wearing such an outfit on a mission was like begging to be exposed.
As the leader of the Talons, he was very different from ordinary Talons.
For example… he was not a completely controlled pawn.
As the Talon Leader and also a member of the Court of Owls, he was fortunate enough to retain his self-awareness.
However, this was not a good position either, as these cowardly Court members would blame him for any problems that arose.
The White-masked figure in the main seat leaned forward slightly, candlelight dancing on his mask, making his eyes flicker between light and dark: "Was the recovery of the missing Talons successful?"
"Not successful," the Talon Leader straightened his back, his voice steady but with a hint of tension, "The trackers of those missing Talons have all been destroyed."
"Do not search for them for now; it's highly likely the Tiangong Society is responsible," the White-masked figure in the main seat's tone remained unchanged, "Recall all Talons and place them in frozen standby."
"Understood."
After the Talon Leader's figure disappeared around the corner of the passageway, the White-masked figure in the main seat tapped the table, producing a crisp sound that drew everyone's attention: "Since the Tiangong Society has been brought up, let's discuss it further."
His gaze swept over those present, and his masked voice carried an unfathomable meaning, "Gentlemen, do you think the Tiangong Society is targeting our Court of Owls?"
At these words, the entire Court erupted into a murmur of whispered conversations.
One hunched White-masked figure spoke first, his voice hoarse and sharp: "All those they robbed are members of our Court; doesn't that prove the point? It must be the Tiangong Society deliberately provoking us, trying to establish their authority by stepping on us!"
"Not necessarily!" a tall White-masked figure on the right suddenly stood up, the rustle of his clothes particularly jarring in the silent space, "If they were truly targeting the Court, the Tiangong Society would have followed the clues to our meeting place long ago. Yet they only target members, which is more like seeking wealth or revenge, rather than targeting the Court of Owls."
"Hmph, seeking wealth?" another person sneered, the candlelight illuminating the upturned corner of his mouth beneath his mask, "Besides money, those who were taken also included people! And those were members of the Court of Owls!"
"Those Tiangong Society members stole a large number of bank cards, safes, and similar items. Perhaps they kidnapped those members to force them to reveal the passwords for such items."
For a time, everyone argued, their voices rising and falling, different viewpoints clashing fiercely in the Court, yet always failing to reach a consensus… Leaving the Court, the Talon Leader arrived at the outer corridor.
At this moment, apart from a few Talons on guard duty, there was no one else in the corridor.
The Talon Leader leaned against a cold stone pillar, pressed the button on his communicator, and a low, clear voice erupted from his throat: "All personnel, retreat and enter frozen standby."
The Talon Leader didn't wait for a reply from the other end of the communicator; once he confirmed the signal was sent, he returned the communicator to his waist.
To be honest, he was quite relieved.
In the past, whenever such problems arose, he, the scapegoat, was always the first to be blamed.
But this time, the Master in the main seat hadn't chastised him, which was truly good luck.
However, after he put away his communicator and looked up, he was instantly stunned.
He didn't know when, but four Talons in Black armor had eerily surrounded him.
Although it seemed they were just passing by on patrol, they had indeed subtly encircled him.
A warning bell immediately went off in the Talon Leader's mind. Before he could even open his mouth to question, the Talon on his left suddenly erupted, a cold glint flashed, and a long blade thrust directly towards his heart.
He instinctively dodged, the blade grazing his shoulder and slicing through the cape behind him.
"Damn it! What's going on?!"
A bad thought popped into the Talon Leader's mind: Had someone leaked a secret? Or had there been a change within the organization? Or… was the Master planning to kill him right here?
Otherwise, why would the Talons inside the Court attack him?
"Stop!" Using the momentary dodge, the Talon Leader tried to command them to stop using his authority as leader, while also reaching for the weapon behind him.
However, the Talon on the right pounced like a leopard, his pincer-like arms clamping tightly onto his two arms.
He struggled fiercely, muscles tensing, veins bulging, but found the opponent's strength far exceeded his imagination.
That's not right; they were all Talons, so why was there such a huge difference in physical ability?
"Click!"
With two soft clicks, the remaining two Talons each pulled out a pistol-like object from their waists.
Of course, these guns had no magazines; the front of the gun was a grappling hook.
These were grappling hook guns.
As the two Talons pulled their triggers, sharp grappling hooks, trailing chains, shot out, hooking the leader's hands.
After confirming the grappling hooks were secured, the two men pulled sharply to the left and right, yanking him in opposite directions.
Intense pain, like an electric current, instantly swept through his entire body, making him unable to struggle.
Just as he was in agony, losing control of his body, the Talon who had first attacked him let go.
The opponent suddenly delivered a spinning kick, directly striking him in the face with one leg.
The kick was like a fully charged whip; the severe pain made the leader's vision go black, and just before his consciousness faded, he could only watch as the four Talons approached him step by step.
The four exchanged glances, then reached out and tapped their dark, heart-guard-like chest plates.
A light purple hourglass symbol lit up, and their Black armor turned White.
"Alright, time to pick up the new recruit."